Being obese reduces the chance of survival in severe cases of Covid-19, a study has found. Reduced lung function and inflamed tissue under the skin and around internal organs could be linked to the increased risk, as both factors can trigger a life-threatening overreaction of the body’s immune response that causes harm to patients. Researchers also found that being male was linked with more serious Covid-19 hospital admissions. Read more

A dashboard pulling together data from several sources on the Covid-19 outbreak in Scotland provides a picture of how the situation is developing. The data, updated daily and including the number of cases, deaths and tests performed, is presented as a series of graphs. Data on the global trajectory of the pandemic is also available. Read more

Data from popular home genetic-testing kits could help scientists shed light on why some people who catch coronavirus have no symptoms while others become very ill. Researchers are asking people who have used DNA testing services – such as Ancestry DNA, FTDNA and 23andMe – to join a study that aims to identify key genes involved in the body’s response to the infection. Read more

Researchers are studying the genetic blueprints of up to 20,000 severely ill Covid-19 patients to find out why the disease affects some more seriously than others, and suggest potential treatments. A UK-wide initiative will sequence the genetic makeup – the whole genome – of patients to identify the specific genes that cause a predisposition to the disease. Read more

A scientist from the Roslin Institute is leading a project worth almost £5 million seeking to aid understanding of Covid-19 and its impact on the human body. Researchers will collect samples and data from 1,300 Covid-19 patients in the UK and use it to discover who in the population is at higher risk of severe illness, the best way to diagnose the disease, and what happens in patients’ immune systems to help or harm them when they contract Covid-19. They will also monitor the effects of drugs used in patients and calculate how long people are infectious. Read more

An initiative to launch start-up companies in the food and agricultural science sector is being created by the Roslin Institute and investment firm Deep Science Ventures. The project, the Food & Agriculture Science Transformer (FAST) programme, will seek to develop the sector’s first billion-pound start-up company. Read more

Scientists have created a detailed library of genes in cattle, in a development that aids understanding of key inherited traits linked to animal health and productivity. The results include insight into a range of genes and their influence on tissues and cell types, underscoring the genetic basis of 45 key traits including fertility, milk production and growth. The atlas will support scientific research and enable selective breeding in the livestock industry. Read more

Salmon could be bred to be more resistant to sea lice by using genetic data in a relatively inexpensive manner, scientists say. The technique could be used in selective breeding to help mitigate the impact of sea lice, which is the most costly disease for the salmon aquaculture industry. The method also has potential to be used for improving other economically important traits, and in other aquaculture species. Read more

Transplanting gut microbes from chickens that are relatively resistant to Campylobacter bacteria into chickens that are susceptible does not improve resistance, a study has shown. Campylobacter is a leading cause of food poisoning in people and is commonly found in chickens. Read more

Are you looking for fun activities without having to leave your home? ‘Science @Home’ is a series of simple, hands-on science activities to do at home. Every activity is linked to real-life Roslin research, explores how science is done and encourages children’s curiosity. Read more